Smart City Planning – Combining Wayfinding Signage with Parking Technology at the Precinct Level

Smart City Planning – Combining Wayfinding Signage with Parking Technology at the Precinct Level

Precinct level parking solutions are increasingly becoming an integral part of smart city planning.

With clusters of parking options in busy city centre or shopping and entertainment precincts, managing traffic flow at key ‘last mile’ decision points is critical to the reduction of congestion.

Whether parking facilities are utilising area count or per-bay parking guidance solutions, data collected from various sensors and sites can be consolidated and analysed in real time.

The advantage of incorporating precinct level wayfinding signage is that data from multiple parking assets, both council and commercially operated; on-and off-street; can be combined and displayed to drivers. In doing so, the driving public are delivered the benefit of real-time parking availability information in the last few minutes of their journey. This helps each individual to make informed decisions about which direction to turn and with the further community benefit of helping to alleviate traffic congestion during peak periods.

Consider Sydney’s ICC Darling Harbour precinct, home to a convention centre, a casino, multiple hotels and restaurants, a shopping area and various tourist attractions. In addition, it hosts public events and celebrations throughout the year. Utilising a precinct level solution that pulls parking availability data from several separate parking facilities, the highly visible parking wayfinding signs are located above two major access roads, allowing drivers to decide which direction to head according to parking availability. Not only does this assist traffic flow during busy periods, but it also contributes to an improved visitor experience

Consider Sydney’s ICC Darling Harbour precinct, home to a convention centre, a casino, multiple hotels and restaurants, a shopping area and various tourist attractions. In addition, it hosts public events and celebrations throughout the year. Utilising a precinct level solution that pulls parking availability data from several separate parking facilities, the highly visible parking wayfinding signs are located above two major access roads, allowing drivers to decide which direction to head according to parking availability. Not only does this assist traffic flow during busy periods, but it also contributes to an improved visitor experience

Similarly, local councils across the country such as: City of Darwin, Waverley in Sydney’s east, City of Launceston, Bayside in Melbourne’s south and several others are turning to smart, precinct level solutions that direct drivers to parking facilities that are within walking distance of main shopping thoroughfares, beaches and eateries. This use of technology ensures a quality experience for locals and visitors alike and assists in the reduction of congestion and CO2 emissions, lowering car park complaints and incident reports.

By utilising cloud-based, wireless and solar technologies, precinct level parking solutions are a smart, green solution for cities that is also dependable, accurate and extendible for future needs.

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How do car park area counting solutions work?

How do car park area counting solutions work?

Car park area counting solutions use technology to manage and optimise parking facilities that are usually large and, more often than not, outdoors.

Area counting solutions are a cost-effective way of counting the number of vehicles entering and exiting a parking area. An assessment of available structure will be required to determine the best technology to use, but options include: laser, magnetic resonance or camera sensors. The data generated provides insights into utilisation of the parking facility over time and can allow real time parking availability information to be communicated to drivers.

Typically, a car park area count solution makes use of sensors installed at entry and exit points of the car park, either embedded in the ground – in the case magnetic resonance sensors – or mounted horizontally or overhead, in the case of laser or camera sensors.

Each of the three sensor types can be used as a standalone solution, or as a component of a larger parking guidance solution monitoring multiple areas. Each of the sensor types will better suit certain environments. Site-specific factors along with experience and knowledge of the capabilities of the sensors will help determine the best technology to use.

When in place, the sensors continuously collect data from the entry and exit points which is then transmitted to a central processing unit or software system that keeps track of vehicle movements and maintains knowledge of the number of available parking spaces in real-time.

Signage is placed at strategic locations within a parking facility, usually at entrances and decision points, to indicate key pieces of information such as the number of available spaces overall and, in some cases, in a given sub-area of the parking facility.

Some area count solutions will integrate with mobile apps or websites, allowing drivers to check parking availability remotely before arriving at their destination.

In today’s increasingly smart cities, area counting systems play a crucial role in parking management, by helping to alleviate congestion, improve efficiency and traffic flow and enhance the overall parking experience – all on a relatively low budget.

There are conflicting opinions on the efficacy of some counting sensors, however in our experience it is less to do with the hardware and more to do with the sensitivity of the software analysing vehicle movement. Accurate area counting is both possible and cost effective.

For site tours or advice customised for your individual parking assets, talk to one of our experienced team today.

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